Mirage Gale
by ExoZadakh
Summary: The Mirage Dissidia series continues with a battle between two warriors with the power of wind.  A new Mirage Arena has been constructed in the world of Final Fantasy V, and Ven rushes into battle with a new foe.


(This story does not necessarily fit with the canon timelines of Final Fantasy V, Dissidia Final Fantasy, or Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep, though there are other stories in this timeline. It should also be noted that it includes my personal interpretation of the Mirage Arena, a world in Birth by Sleep that was never really explained. Restrictions/details for the fight are below.)

Basic: Fight takes place inside the Mirage Arena; 'Mirage EX Cores' will randomly appear and activate EX Mode for Bartz or a random second level Command Style for Ventus

Ventus: High level; Lost Memory Keyblade; Multi-Vortex Shootlock; no D-Link; no items; no defined deck but limits on powerful moves (including low Focus regeneration); Block, Dodge Roll, Air Slide, Jump, Counter Rush, Payback Raid, Reversal abilities; Stratosphere finisher

Bartz: High level; advanced equipment and accessories; Dissidia 012 moveset, but Brave attacks deal HP damage; no summons

**Mirage Gale**

Ven slowed down as he flew past the Mirage Arena, wondering if he should stop by. The last time he had visited the Arena, he was unable to enter—the teleporter that allowed access to the facility wouldn't activate for some reason. Still, time had passed since then, and Ven had no idea when he'd come by this way again, so he decided to give it a try. He rounded the Arena and landed on the outer platform, his Keyblade returning to its default form, and he stepped onto the teleporter and was transported to the lobby.

"So it is working again!" Ven remarked.

"Huh? Who's there?" a voice called.

A man wearing brown armor and a green mask popped out from behind the Arena's main console, and Ven said, "Pahrak? Sorry, didn't mean to startle you."

"Oh, it's you," Pahrak said. "I was just making some adjustments to the system; didn't hear you come in."

"Hey, last time I came here the teleporter wasn't working," Ven said. "You said you were the Arena's caretaker, so I was wondering if you knew what happened?"

"We had to take the Arena offline so we could boot up a new one," Pahrak said. "Every now and then, Master has me and my colleagues build a new Mirage Arena in a different dimension. In order to connect it to the network of Mirage Arenas, we need to shut the network off for a short time."

"Oh…" Ven said. "Sounds cool!"

Ven ran over to the console, and Pahrak said, "Well, the connection isn't complete yet. Master says that if someone accesses the new Arena too soon, it may have unpredictable effects on their memories."

"Well this says someone's accessing it right now," Ven said, pointing to the screen.

Pahrak moved over to the console and said, "…Dang. What should I do? Let's see…"

While Pahrak continued mumbling, Ven moved to the center of the lobby, and after one last look over his shoulder, he touched the light above him and was sent into the arena.

Bartz peered into the cave to assess the situation, but Boko nudged him and he stumbled into the entrance. "Yah!" Bartz exclaimed, and then he scrambled back around the corner. "Boko, be more careful! That guy in the green mask could still be in there!"

"Kweh!" Boko squawked.

"I know, but still!" Bartz said.

Bartz looked into the cave again, and then he and Boko slowly walked in. The floor was covered in metal with a depression in the center, and in the ceiling above that depression was a translucent sphere filled with sparks of energy. A computer console rested against the far wall, and Bartz approached it and examined the screen.

"Hm, this is strange…" Bartz muttered. "Can't say I've ever seen anything like this."

Bartz walked over to the depression and started thinking, and Boko stepped up to the console and pecked at the keyboard. A beam of light shot down and hit Bartz, who stumbled and said, "Ah! What the heck?"

Suddenly Bartz felt the world warp around him, and a surge of memories struck him and nearly knocked him out. Bartz hit the floor and thought, _What are these memories? All I see is battle…wait…I remember now! These are my memories of fighting for Cosmos!_

"Hey, are you alright?" Ven asked.

He helped Bartz up, and Bartz looked around the arena and asked, "What's going on?"

"You've entered the Mirage Arena," Ven said. "By the way, I'm Ventus! My friends call me Ven."

"Nice to meet you," Bartz said. "Bartz Klauser, at your service! So what's a Mirage Arena?"

"It's a place where people from different dimensions can meet and battle," Ven explained. "I saw that you accessed your Arena, and I was hoping to test my skills. Sorry if it's a bother."

"Not at all!" Bartz said. "Sounds like fun! Do we just go all-out?"

"Yeah—don't worry about killing anyone," Ven said. "Alright, let's go!"

Bartz took a battle stance, and Ven summoned his Lost Memory Keyblade and waited. They both remained still for a time, but then Ven suddenly launched into his Multi-Vortex and Bartz just wasn't quick enough to dodge. Bartz dashed through the air and slashed Ven with a gunblade, and he tried landing a hit with a spear but Ven knocked him back with Payback Raid. Ven landed and raised his defenses, but Bartz overpowered him with a rushing punch and then executed a combo, ending by smashing Ven into the floor with the Buster Sword. Bartz evaded Sonic Blade and repelled Ven with Hellfire, but Ven wasn't down for long and struck back with Blizzaga.

"Not bad!" Bartz commented. "I can tell you know what you're doing!"

Ven rushed in, but Bartz tossed out an axe that threw him off, and Bartz trapped him in a blade combo before sending him hurtling into the wall. Bartz cast Holy, sending several orbs of light at his foe, but Ven dodged and moved in, and Bartz parried Lost Memory but was battered when Ven unleashed Ars Arcanum. Ven blocked a sword attack and used Tornado Strike, but Bartz tumbled out of the way and used Ragnarok Blade, slicing Ven with an intense laser beam.

"You seem like a veteran yourself!" Ven said as he got to his feet. "I'm glad I get a real challenge this time!"

Bartz stabbed the floor and a Dark Flame moved towards Ven, but Ven Dodge Rolled aside, saw Bartz charge, and used Magnet Spiral to draw him in and knock him into the ceiling. Ven prepared to cast Tornado, but Bartz surprised him with Holy and cast Flare while the Keybearer was stunned, focusing three devastating energy bolts on him. Bartz saw Ven use Strike Raid and quickly blocked, and he rushed in to attack, trading a few hits before launching Ven into the air. Ven flipped around and blocked a Blitzball, and he cast Aeroga but Bartz ran out of range and launched more Holy bullets.

The spell was blocked, and Ven retaliated with Megaflare and said, "Now that I know what to expect, I'm going to watch that attack much more closely."

"Smart," Bartz said. "But watch out for this too!"

Bartz threw another axe and Ven knocked it aside, but Bartz used this as a distraction so he could use Luminous Shard, hurling a massive shockwave of light that caught Ven by surprise. Ven cast Cura and used Wind Raid, hurling his Keyblade and willing it to circle the arena in an irregular pattern, but as Bartz was evading that he noticed a Mirage EX Core appear. Bartz was quicker and grabbed the Core, causing a red cape to appear on his back and three stars to float over his head, and Ven moved back just in time to avoid Hellfire.

"Huh…these EX Cores work a little differently," Bartz noted. "No complaints here!"

Ven used Time Splicer to rapidly warp around Bartz, slashing him repeatedly, but before he could retreat Bartz bashed him with a Goblin Punch and sent him all the way across the arena. Bartz dashed in as Ven was recovering and used his fists and swords in a combo, but then Ven used Deep Freeze to encase him in ice and hit him skyward with Aerial Slam. Ven was ready with a Keyblade combo when Bartz fell back into his range, and he readied Thundaga but Bartz hit him with Holy, then Flare, and then activated his EX Burst, transporting both of them to a blue vortex of light.

"Dual-Wield Spellblade Rapid Fire!" Bartz announced. He delivered four double-blade attacks, each with different swords and each carrying the force of a different element, and then he said, "Sorry about this Ven!"

Bartz fused all eight swords into one, dashed out, and slashed Ven, and then they were returned to the Mirage Arena and Bartz reverted to normal. Ven cast Curaga and stood up, saying, "Ow…you nearly got me with that!"

"Still kicking?" Bartz said. "You really are tough! That routine finishes off just about everyone!"

Bartz used Dark Flame, but Ven used Multi-Vortex to become temporarily invincible as he assaulted Bartz with blades of wind, and as his Shootlock ended he noticed another Mirage EX Core show up. Ven took the Core and was sent into the Wingblade Command Style, causing six energy swords to float behind him, and Bartz said, "You know, that sort of reminds me of Gilgamesh…"

"You'd better hold on to something Bartz!" Ven said, and then he leapt out and began swinging.

Bartz did his best to dodge but couldn't avoid that many swords, and when Ven finally paused for a moment Bartz used Hellfire to give himself a chance to retreat and send out a Luminous Shard. Ven dashed in and dodged Holy, and Bartz leapt through Ven's swords and used Ragnarok Blade, though Ven quickly recovered and landed another combo on Bartz. Bartz was left dazed by the attack, so Ven went ahead and used the Wingblade finisher, stabbing all six swords into the floor and releasing an energy pulse, and then he cast Cure and watched Bartz carefully. Ven was surprised by Holy and Flare, but then he blocked a sword attack and retaliated, though Bartz was quick to overpower him.

"Some of your powers are a little ridiculous," Bartz said.

Ven just smiled and said, "Holy Rise!"

Pillars of light shot up out of the floor, pushing Bartz back, and then Ven rushed out with Fire Dash, got behind Bartz, and used Atomos Break to toss his foe around. Ven tried to strike Bartz while he was recovering, but Bartz evaded and struck Ven with a variety of weapons, leaving him crippled for a Dark Flame attack. Bartz saw a Mirage EX Core and took it, but before he could act, Ven was right on top of him with a combo of Keyblade swings, and Bartz used Goblin Punch but Ven used Reversal to slip behind him. After a few more attacks Ven was ready to use his finisher, so he activated Stratosphere and used several leaping attacks on Bartz, eventually knocking him back into the wall.

"Finished yet?" Ven asked.

"Not quite," Bartz groaned. "Let's see if this works!"

Bartz sent out waves of Dark Flames and several dozen Holy bullets, and Ven carefully wove through the attacks, even when Bartz started using Luminous Shards instead of Holy. Ven thought he saw an opening and prepared to use his Shootlock, but Bartz lunged, struck him with Goblin Punch, and used Dual-Wield Spellblade Rapid Fire again. Bartz took a deep breath as he walked across the arena, and he prepared for another round as Ven got back on his feet.

"I'm going to finish you off this time, Ven!" Bartz said.

"Come on then!" Ven said. "Show me what you've got!"

Bartz rushed in, but before he made contact Ven cast Tornado, and the funnel of wind moved out and swept Bartz away. The attack continuously pummeled Bartz, driving his health down to the minimum, and when the spell ended he fell and tried to raise his guard, but Ven dealt one final Keyblade attack to end the fight.

"Heh…well done," Bartz said. "I haven't had this much fun in a long time."

Bartz disappeared, and then Ven was returned to the lobby and saw Pahrak waiting for him. "Oh…hey, Pahrak!" Ven said.

"The next time there's a problem with the Arena, don't access it," Pahrak said.

"I wanted to get some training in," Ven said. "Besides, this gets me a really nice D-Link."

"Well, just be glad nothing went wrong," Pahrak said. "I'll be on my way, then. Try not to break anything while I'm gone."

Bartz reappeared in the Mirage Arena in his home world, and Boko stepped up and squawked at him. "Smooth move, bird brain!" Bartz said. "Well, know I know what warriors from other dimensions are like. Let me see…"

Bartz held out his hand and the Lost Memory Keyblade appeared, and then he swung it and sent out an Aeroga-like shockwave. He dismissed the weapon and thought for a minute, and then he said, "Alright, it's decided! I'll keep honing my skills so I can beat whoever shows up in this Arena! Come on, Boko! We're off on another adventure!"

THE END


End file.
